Italian eatery Bottega will have to cough up $50,000 plus costs after the Melbourne Magistrate Court found the company guilty of selling food its staff should have reasonably known was falsely described.
The incident occurred on 12 September 2017 when a diner allegedly suffered an anaphylactic shock after consuming food they were led to believe was safe for them to eat.
According to the Herald Sun, the incident was serious enough for the Melbourne council to seek a conviction, which was granted in October.
Denis Lucey, who opened the restaurant in 2002, told the Leader he took full responsibility for the breach and had since updated the venue’s processes. Among other procedures, the induction manual has been updated, an EpiPen is now kept on hand and a National Allergy Strategy recommended menu matrix has been installed.
The National Allergy Strategy launched free online food allergy training in 2017 in response to an increase in the episodes of anaphylaxis, hospital admissions and fatalities due to food allergies in Australia
